The uptake of AI in Zimbabwean mainstream newsrooms: Perspectives of journalists

Abstract

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has intensified around the world and the journalism and media industry has not been left behind as journalists have also adopted its use. The paper investigates the adoption and integration of AI in the journalism and media industry in Zimbabwe, coming from a social constructionist perspective. The paper interrogates how journalists in the mainstream media are utilising AI in their journalism practice. It reveals the negative and positive impacts of using AI in the practice of journalism in third world countries like Zimbabwe. The study reveals that Zimbabwean journalists take advantage of the opportunities offered by the use of AI. The study exposes that Zimbabwean journalists use AI in advancing their sourcing, news gathering and writing news stories. The paper also provides an understanding of how Zimbabwean journalists use AI in a world where technology seems to be taking over in almost every industry and overcoming the traditional ways of doing things. The study combined both qualitative and quantitative methods and it was carried out in Harare and in-depth interviews and questionnaires were used to gather data from ten and 12 journalists respectively. The journalists were purposively selected from three traditional media houses in Harare comprising Alpha Media Holdings, Zimpapers and Radio Zimbabwe. The findings reveal that AI has not been fully embraced and more needs to be done to promote its uptake and adoption. It was also established that journalists believe that AI is more like a double-edged sword offering opportunities and threats.